Windows
by aka.MirandaMeryl
Summary: You can see many things through windows...more than you would like at times. / Further notes inside.
1. Skyline Window

A **BIG** thank you to my beta MirandaMinerva! I must say I am so glad (and so very grateful) to have had her as my beta. There were so many of my mistakes that I didn't catch and scenes I wouldn't have been able to convey without her help. I'm completely honest when I say, this story could not and would not have made it to this site without you. Thank you again! Cheers!

Therefore, I must say I scribbled in some final touches whilst reading over again, so current mistakes are completely mine.

Set at the ending of DWP movie. Miranda POV.

A/N: Not sure if Roy went with them to Paris, but for the sake of my sanity we'll say he did because Miranda trusted no other driver. lol

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"Andr…"

_Where is Andrea?_ Miranda thought to herself as she searched the crowd behind her. The place where her most trusted assistant should have been.

Her heart had begun to race wildly in her chest. _Where could she have gone?_ As she thought that final word, she finally set her eyes upon Andy walking across the street, walking away, from her. Miranda's heart skipped a beat; quite possibly two beats.

Her stomach churned at the sight. All at once, everything around Miranda went away. She began to see spots grow, shrink and change colors in her eyes as her vision tunneled until the only thing she could see was Andy walking away…Her heart beat faster until it threatened to burst. Her legs began to tingle with the warning pricks of weakness.

Miranda couldn't even think or move at this point. She could only stand on those lonely steps as she watched Andrea disappear from her sight.

"It is so nice of you to be here for this event, Miranda!" One of the male attendees said.

To Miranda, it was just a mumbled mess. She turned her head around and realized her mouth was agape and her heart was still racing. Miranda clenched her jaw, took a deep breath and pursed her lips trying feverishly to calm down, but with little success. Having lights flash in her saddened, confused and blurry eyes made the shock of it all worsen for with every flash the reality of Andy being gone sunk in more and more.

_Why did she leave me? Where is she going? Who the hell does she think she is?_

Making sure her eyes wouldn't betray her, she adjusted her glasses and ducked her head slightly until she was inside the event and avoiding as many admirers as was possibly allowed. Not daring to show any emotion besides the fakeness in her smile.

Once inside, she secluded herself in a corner and tried to call Andy's phone, but there was no answer.

_Maybe she didn't hear her phone go off…Should I try again? No…I don't want to seem desperate. What the hell am I thinking? _She shook her head at the thought of such foolishness.

As she searched for Nigel, she couldn't help from continuing to think about Andy. _Why? I thought we were getting along well. I mean, considering. Maybe she…? No. What if she…? No. Damn it, WHY IS SHE DOING THIS TO ME?_ Confused questions and angry rants ran through her mind as she walked aimlessly to her appointed spot next to the runway. Nigel walked up and stood in Miranda's peripheral vision.

"Hello Miranda. I just saw Andrea walking across the street, but why was she…" Nigel trailed off when he saw the look in Miranda's eyes as she stared off into the distance through her Honey Gucci sunglasses. It was a look of sheer anger and hurt. Though never once did she move a muscle to acknowledge Nigel was there.

He decided to not say anything further, but ordered them both a glass of champagne as a waiter passed by and took his seat next to Miranda.

The show began and realizing that Andrea was nowhere to be found and was probably not coming back, Nigel took out a thick white notepad and started taking notes on the first model. Every now and then, between notes, he would risk a glance over at Miranda. The usually strong woman was now starting to fidget a bit. He dared not say anything in fear of being castrated, but he was starting to become truly concerned about the editor.

Right after the show, Miranda got up straight away and blazed a path to the restroom. If you looked closely, you could probably see the smoke fuming from the floor where her Monolo's had been. She swung open the door with fervor, stood and stared at the other women that were in there adjusting themselves in the mirror. With one infamously fatal look, they all scattered out leaving Miranda alone. Indeed, she was very alone.

Miranda walked over to the counter and sat her purse down. Digging through it in search of her BlackBerry, she found a box she had all but forgotten about. She opened it up and revealed the extravagant white gold tennis bracelet Andy had given her for her birthday a few months ago. This almost choked Miranda up, had she not remembered about having to call Emily. It was at least one thing she could feel control over; the one comfort she still had: reassurance from the power she held. She placed the box back into her purse and finally reached her phone and dialed her office.

"Miranda Priestly's offi…"

"Emily, I am not going to say this again, but I need you to confirm all of my appointments for the rest of this week. And I want you to pick up my Hermes scarves today, pick up my dry cleaning, take Patricia to the vet to get her shots, call the girls' father and remind him to pick up the twins as soon as they get home from their friends' and take them to his place for the week."

"Yes, Miranda."

"And when Andrea gets back to New York…well, you know what to do about assistants that can't do the job. Remove her things from the desk and immediately start looking for another assistant. One that's more competent and can handle the fast paced lifestyle. Then, um…" This was a word usually not found in Miranda's vocabulary. Very rarely, if ever, does she hesitate or not know what to say when it's Runway related, but as she racked her brain trying to remember what needed to be done, she just couldn't think straight. _What has Andrea done to me?_ Miranda thought as she put her available hand up to her face covering her eyes.

"Yes Miranda. But what's…"

"Emily…That's all." With the last word, her voice quivered. Not enough for Emily to catch, but to Miranda, it was as if she had just set off a bomb. To her, it wasn't just some fault in her speech, but pain from remembering _her_.

Miranda hit the end button and threw her phone back in her Prada bag. She put her hands on the sink and stared at herself in the mirror.

"Come on Miranda, you can get past this…" She spoke aloud to herself. "…you have to for your own sake and the sake of Runway."

By this time, Miranda had begun shaking uncontrollably from a mixture of conflicting emotions.

_Andrea was the only one I opened up to and actually trusted. Well, besides Nigel and my children anyway…but Andrea is different…_was_ different…_

At this thought, Miranda became nauseous.

She doubled over and wrapped her arms around her stomach and sat on the nearest couch in the sitting area in the restroom, quietly rocked while hot and cold flashes swept over her like a tidal wave crashing onto the shore. With every breath she took in, reality hit her harder.

_She's gone…she's really gone…how could this happen?_

Another woman came barging into the restroom and this made Miranda snap her head up as she went from Miranda to "Ice Queen" in 2 seconds flat. The woman looked over and saw Miranda glaring at her from the couch and decided it best to leave the room. Miranda rose up from her seat, retrieved her purse, took a last look at herself in the mirror and left the restroom. Miranda then called Roy to pull up to the front of the building. As she left the restroom, she was once again badgered by more admirers and the paparazzi. She simply smiled at their compliments and their cameras and pushed forward towards her awaiting ride.

She reached her car, opened her door, descended elegantly into her seat, and quickly shut the door to the world. She asked Roy to slide the privacy window closed, to which he meekly smiled, nodded and slowly raised the barrier between them.

To her left, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a small white piece of paper where Andrea had been sitting. Miranda picked it up and read, "Forgive me Miranda" on the note. At the bottom right corner, there was a small print of a red kiss. Miranda returned a tear stained kiss to the print. Using a hand, she wiped away the escaped tear and tried to steal herself once more. She slipped the note in her purse and the back of her hand brushed against the white box still tucked away in her purse. She took it out, opened it and stared at the gorgeous Tiffany bracelet, allowing herself to think of the memory belonging to it.

"Miranda?_" Andrea was walking over to me. Can't she see that I'm busy…writing a meaningless email to my ex-husband…What is that in her hand?_

"Andrea…_" I said in a low but demanding voice._

"I know I know…You hate being reminded of your age…but, I just wanted to give this to you. I won't say 'Happy Birthday', but I will say this…_" Andrea laid the simple white box with a glittering gold ribbon upon my desk. "_… I hope you have a wonderful day and I wish you nothing but happiness on this day and the rest of your life._" Then she turned on her heel and walked out._

_I couldn't do anything except sit there and watch her walk back to her desk. She had wished me nothing but happiness when I've made her life nothing but hell…_

_I looked down at the box and felt both excitement and guilt._

_*Miranda opens the box and gasps*_

"Dear god it's_…"_ _a Tiffany's White Gold Tennis Bracelet! Bloody hell Andrea! How can you afford this on your salary? Even _I_ know your pay isn't that good…_

_*Andrea chuckles*_

_Well, just great. She heard me gasp and gush…wonderful. Well, it is very beautiful…just like her._

_No._

_She'll always be more beautiful. Than anything._

_*Miranda closes the box and sets it in her purse. She then looks up and over to Andrea who's typing away on her computer*_

"_Happy Birthday to me…"_

She wiped away the tears that had escaped. She then took the bracelet out of the box and fastened it around her left wrist. Placing her left arm in her lap and resting her right hand on her left, she gently caressed the bracelet with her thumb. The rest of the ride to the hotel was a quiet yet troubling one. Miranda suppressed her emotions as long as she could while thinking of Andy and the time they had spent together at Runway until she could no longer think of her.

Roy pulled up to the hotel and Miranda said over the intercom, "Don't worry about getting the door. I'll get it myself." Roy raised his eyebrows and said "Alright. Have a wonderful night, Miranda". She meekly mumbled "Thank you, Roy. Same to you." Miranda was really acting out of her character tonight. _How could Andrea have had such an impact like this? I never thought I would act like this…_

She opened up her door and stepped out onto the street in her black pumps. She shut the door and never looked back as she took large strides to the steps and walked into the hotel towards the elevator. As she approached it, bystanders quickly moved out of the way to give Miranda the elevator. This is exactly what she wanted right now: For people to actually respect her and her authority. Which some people lacked, she thought.

The elevator stopped on her floor and she quickly strode to her suite. Feeling the emotions starting to rise again, she quickly closed and locked her door, and made a quick turn to put her back to it. She dropped her bag, let her shawl drop to the floor and slid her perfectly manicured hands to her face.

_What am I going to do now? Without Andrea I…_

*Thunder clap*

Miranda jolted at the sound and looked up at the window and saw lightning. She wrapped her arms around herself and solemnly walked over to the window where she viewed the vast Paris skyline all lit up in mockingly beautiful lights. It had started to rain since she had reached her room. "What perfect timing…" She said aloud. She sighed and thought to herself _Paris will always mean something different to me now and will forever haunt me_. She watched the raindrops glide down the window masking the tears caressing the porcelain face of a woman heartbroken.

The little world that abided in Miranda's soul wherein Andrea lived was falling apart and she couldn't do anything but stand and stare out the window. Stare out into oblivion thinking about _Andrea…_

Miranda had pulled herself away from the window long enough to get changed and there she stood back at the window. "Why the bloody hell do I keep staring out of this window? It's not like I haven't seen this city a million times."

Her British accent always played out when she was frustrated and couldn't figure out an answer. _At least nobody was here to hear that…Oh god…I'm alone…_

That statement hit hard again. Miranda stalked over to her bed and sat on the edge. Looking down at her hands wringing together, traitorous tears began to fall. Before she could get a grip on those few, she began to sob. The bottle where she had managed to stow away her emotions broke and they all flooded over her. Anger, hatred, sadness, vulnerability, joy, heartache…

It was all too much for the editor…

She flew back onto the bed, curled up into a ball, grabbed the covers and pulled them up to her chin. Still crying, she couldn't control the bodily convulsions the sobs created.

_My god I'm having a breakdown…Andrea why do you affect me so?_

This thought just sent her into more emotional rant of anger, vulnerability, and heartache.

_My god….is this what love feels like? Shit…I just said I loved Andrea…No….no no no NO…I can NOT start talking nonsense now…is it nonsense? Of course it is. You simply don't 'love' your assistants. They're there to make your job easier, and that is exactly what Andrea did. Extreme appreciation is what you're feeling…right...?_

Miranda had eventually been able to calm down enough to appreciate the warmth and comfort of the down-feathered bed. She seemed to sink into it as the feeling of it engulfed her.

_Andrea…_was the last word that graced her lips as the exhausted editor slipped into slumber.


	2. Tinted Windows

**Warning**: There is a foretelling of sexual abuse in this chapter. So if it does offend you, please do not read.

Adrian is a character created by me to play Miranda's husband after Stephen. This takes place a year after Andy leaves Miranda in Paris. Andy returns to New York to try to begin a new life.

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Andy woke up that morning with a lot on her mind. It had been a year exactly on this day that she left Miranda in Paris. She saw her every night in her dreams. Some nights were good, but others she would wake up in tears wishing the dreams would end. Some nights she didn't even get to sleep at all due to thinking of Miranda. And her journalism had been greatly affected by all this. She did regret hurting Miranda, but not the career choice she had made. The Mirror paid a little more and she wasn't as stressed. At least those were the excuses she would tell anyone that would listen. The Mirror actually paid much less but still enough to pay the rent, and she was even more stressed because she couldn't stop obsessive thoughts of Miranda.

This morning she lay in bed thinking of that notorious day she left Miranda in Paris…

"I see a great deal of myself in you_." Miranda said looking at Andy then looked back out the tinted window._

_Really? Oh my god…I think my stomach just turned inside out._

"Everybody wants to be us…_"_

_Yea…but very few people want to be me: A person falling in love with her boss…a _woman _boss at that…I can't do this anymore. I've got to leave. I can't risk being in love with someone I can't have._

_Maybe if I leave her a note…damn…where's that piece of paper I had in my purse yesterday? Oh god…I am like her…I sounded _exactly _like her right then…_

_She pulled out her notebook she used to write all of her "Andrea-do's" from Miranda._

_She wrote "Forgive me Miranda" on the paper, ripped it out of the notebook, and kissed it. She got out of the car, placed the paper on the seat, and closed the door. She stood in her spot as she watched the lovely elegant Miranda walk up the steps into the awaiting crowd of photographers and journalists._

_Andy turned and walked away…tears welling in her eyes…never looking back._

She knew she had to do something to get Miranda back in her life. This wasn't living…this was torture. She willed herself out of bed and jumped in the shower. A quick lukewarm shower is what she needed to wake up from another all-nighter. She stepped out of the shower, walked into the kitchen in just her towel and put on a pot of coffee. Hair still a little damp, she picked up her phone off the counter and dialed Miranda's number as she did every other day.

"_Hello_." Miranda answered her phone after a single ring and with the infamous attitude, too.

Every time before now, Miranda wouldn't answer. Andy chalked it up as Miranda trying to pay her back by ignoring her, but maybe she, too, realized today was the "one year anniversary" of that fateful day.

"M-Miranda. Hi. H-how are you?" She was a bit overwhelmed from actually hearing Miranda's voice on the other line.

"I'm _fine_."

"Th-that's good…" Still in a semi-catatonic state, she couldn't think of much to say.

"Is there anything you wanted to _say_, _Andrea_?"

"Urm…we-…I-I-I-I…" Andy, completely catatonic after hearing Miranda say her name, couldn't get a word out.

"Don't stutter. It's _annoying_." Miranda was annoyed by the lack of coherency Andy had, but she would be lying if she said she didn't miss it, too.

"Right. Well, I just-I wanted to see how you were." Though it wasn't all she wanted to say, this wasn't exactly a lie.

"_Andrea_, I'm going to be late. Besides, you don't work for me anymore. You can stop _pretending_ to care about me. That's all."

*click*

"Ouch." Andy said with a sarcastic tone to her voice, but noticeable hurt, too.

Andy had always sincerely cared about Miranda's well being and those words stung more than Andy would ever care to mention to anyone. But she could understand where Miranda was coming from. Andy severely hurt her when she left; the tone in Miranda's voice made that clear. "_How could I not have realized that Miranda had opened up to me? Even if it was just for those few minutes, it was a big step for Miranda to do that. And I had taken it for granted. I need to make it up to her. But how?"_

Andy went to work and when she returned around 5pm, she was still thinking of a way she could try to make things up to Miranda. She began to cook herself some dinner. Then it came to her...

"A dinner! That's it! I'll take her out to dinner and talk to her!" She ran from the kitchen to her bedroom, threw the towel she had been wearing onto the bed, and clambered to her dresser to get dressed. "_I doubt she'll answer my call again. Maybe I'll just drive to the townhouse. I'll have to call Roy and make sure when she'll be home. The Mirror doesn't pay me enough to take her to an expensive restaurant…maybe she'll be ok with me making dinner for her. I am a very good cook after all. I could give these chefs a run for their money. I think I'm finally going crazy…" _She laughed to herself. Unusual plans were running through her mind thanks to the unnatural amount of coffee coursing through her veins, the lack of sleep, and the obsessive thoughts of needing Miranda back in her life.

"_Wait….she'll have dinner with Adrian and the twins. I highly doubt she'd like me interrupting that. Oh well…I guess I could still just go over. Maybe after she gets through with the book…No, it'll be far too late for that. It'll be near midnight or later by then. I guess I should wait for breakfast. Yea…I'll make breakfast for her! I've desperately got to try and find something appropriate to wear that says: 'I'm-sorry-I-was-a-complete-ass-but-here's-some-breakfast-trust-me-it's-not-poisoned'."_

Andy rushed to the nearest grocery store and upon returning from her shopping, stored it all in the fridge, finished what she had to write before her deadline, sent it in and only then did she change and collapse into bed. She was so exhausted, extremely nervous and excited about trying to catch Miranda tomorrow morning. "_I'll probably have to get up at the crack of dawn to get there in time._ _Guess I'd better set my clock for 4:00am then. Great, only 4 hours of sleep left." _She set the clock and with that last thought, she drifted off to sleep.

Andy was rudely awakened from another Miranda dream by the annoying buzzing of the alarm clock. "_Ugh…4 already? Gah…"_ She dragged herself into the shower and took a cold shower to wake up. It didn't take long, so she was instantly in her closet 10 minutes later looking for the right outfit. She chose one of the outfits Nigel had managed to smuggle to her from her days at Runway that she knew Miranda would approve of, including certain footwear. "_Time to break out the Chanel boots again." _By the time she was ready it was 5:00am. "_Ok, I've got an hour and a half to get to her townhouse before she leaves for work and it won't take but 10 minutes to get there…I hope."_

She gathered her groceries into a bag and ran to her car. As soon as she had gotten in and started the engine, she sped out of the driveway and headed for Miranda's thinking, "_God I hope she doesn't kill me…"_

Miranda had returned from Paris a complete mess. Runway didn't suffer and neither did her relationship with the twins, of course, but when she was alone she herself suffered. She missed Andrea more with every passing day. Not only was every single assistant after Andrea completely incompetent, she had to look at them and remember that it wasn't 'her'.

Miranda remembered an old friend that she had made years ago and decided to look him up. They got to know each other better and soon they married. Miranda thought that was a good idea at the time, but as the time passed, they grew further and further apart. Mirandahad known him as a friend for a while and they tied the knot when she went to him a crying mess about the Paris incident. He would be the only man to ever witness her crying like that; which is one of the reasons they married. "_He is a good 'father-figure' for the twins, but he isn't that good of a husband. He barely touched me after the first month we were together and became distant. I guess the 'newness' wore off. Now here I am a year later: married to a complete ass, more miserable than I was with Stephen, and most of all: still missing Andrea…"_

The call from Andrea that morning did not help her mood at all. It was bad enough that she woke up many times in the night in a cold sweat reliving that dreadful day, but now she had to go through the day listening to Andrea's sweet voice in her head repeating that single minute conversation.

At last it was time for dinner. Meaning the day was almost over and hopefully '_her_' voice would disappear along with the sun…

"Come to dinner, honey." Miranda stood in the doorway of their bedroom and her voice buzzed through the room.

"Yea. Ok." Adrian replied.

*40 minutes later: 7:55.*

"Adrian, your dinner is cold. You'll have to heat it back up. The twins are well on their way to their father's for the weekend now and I've got some things to do before Emily gets here with The Book. I'll be up when I'm done, OK? We could have a little fun if you want…" she said the latter with a bit of seduction in her voice.

"Yea. Ok." Adrian replied, still monotone.

Miranda left the doorway with her brow furrowed.

11:00 PM

"You're still on your laptop? I thought you'd prepare a little if you know what I mean." Miranda said in a sultry low voice, her hands on her hips, and leaned on the doorframe.

"Yea. Ok." Adrian said absentmindedly.

"Ok what?" she boldly asked. She was getting tired of his frequent answer.

"Yea. Ok." He repeated.

"Adrian, what's wrong with you? What are you doing on that thing for so long anyway?" She moved off the doorframe and swung her hands off her hips.

She marched over to Adrian's side of the bed and he quickly shut his laptop.

"Miranda! Sweetie! How was your day?" Adrian blurted out quickly.

"Fine….what were you doing on the laptop?" She squinted her eyes, was curious now.

"Work. Got lots to do." He blatantly lied.

"Oh, so why were you so distant tonight?" Miranda pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh I was? I didn't realize I was. I guess it's because I had been so engrossed in my work…" He stated, fumbling for an excuse.

"Alright. Well, let's get some sleep OK? You look tired." She couldn't care less about his sleep or how he looked at the moment.

"Sure thing, Miranda." He said in a bitter tone.

Adrian rose off the bed, put the laptop in its carrying case and lay back in the bed. They both rolled over to put their backs to each other.

"Love you, Adrian." Miranda sweetly called over her shoulder, attempting to get some kind of reaction out of him.

"You too, Miranda." He mumbles.

Miranda was the last to fall asleep again tonight.

That night Miranda dreamt about Adrian…but it wasn't a particularly nice dream. In fact, it confused and worried her although she believed it to be true. Although she's had these dreams before, only now did they seem plausible.

Adrian groggily awoke at 5 a.m. and started to get out of bed.

"Adrian? There's something I need to talk to you about." Miranda quickly told him before he had a chance to go anywhere.

"What's that Mira?" He said with a little hesitation in his voice.

"I feel you don't have intimate feelings for me anymore; like you're too preoccupied with something…or someone…else." Miranda explained in a humble voice.

"Don't be ridiculous, Miranda!" He yelled at her.

Even though Adrian was a few years younger than Miranda, he had a sense about him that made Miranda cringe when he yelled. She hated this because being who _she_ was; reacting like that was a sign of weakness. So this made her a bit peeved.

"You do _not_ yell at me, Adrian." Miranda responded firmly.

"I'll do whatever the hell I want, you bitch!" He yelled even louder this time and leaned in towards her with that last word, practically spitting in her face.

It stung. Sure, Miranda could be a bitch at times, but that was at work. She was a different woman at home. Adrian was taking advantage of that fact.

"Need I remind you that's why that Anna chick left you? Because you were such a bitch to her? Don't think I've forgotten about you coming to me bawling your eyes out that you lost her. And I'm the one that has been preoccupied? Shit, all you fucking care about is that damn rag of a magazine you worship! You're a total bitch!" Adrian's bottled up frustrations from the past year had finally burst out and he mercilessly bashed Miranda.

"Andrea! Her name is Andrea! If you're going to humiliate me, at least get the bloody facts right!" She surprised herself as she raised her voice at the blasphemy of saying Andrea's name wrong.

"Oh so that's it….you want me to humiliate you. Fine. I can to that." He said determinedly.

"No. What I want is for you to me more intimate with me. I miss what we had and I hate what you've become. You are having an affair aren't you? You've been talking to some whore online, am I right?" Miranda was getting more and more agitated as this built up.

"She's NOT a whore and we're just friends!" Adrian admitted defensively.

"Yea. A friend that you've been having cyber-sex with! And I don't think I'd be too bold in saying you've probably been texting her, too, right? I've seen you alone with your laptop, Adrian. I know the things you do…" Miranda's voice quivered at that last statement.

"If you were around more, I wouldn't need another woman!" Adrian yelled the hurtful truth.

"Adrian, you know I try my best to be home as much as I can. My schedule can't be identical to yours every single day." Miranda became a bit sheepish as her heart yearned for her to apologize, but her stubborn mind kept her from it.

"Alright, fine. Intimacy is what you want; intimacy is what you'll get." Adrian had a crazed look in his eye as he stepped towards Miranda and started to take off his shirt and unzip his pants.

"What do you mean, Adrian?" Miranda stepped back and looked at him with extreme worry and a little fright.

"Don't worry baby. You'll get what's coming to you. Now come here…" He stated while stepping towards Miranda.

She couldn't go anywhere, her back was against the wall, and Adrian kept getting closer until he was in arms length and he grabbed Miranda's face with one firm hand and shook her head to mess up her hair and confuse her. She looked at him with fear through scattered white strands.

Adrian ran his fingers through the locks covering Miranda's eyes and grabbed a hold of them at the top of her forehead. "That's what I want to see…That fear. I love it." He firmly placed his lips on hers and as she squirmed under him, he hauled out and slapped her so hard it knocked her to her knees.

She felt her lip start to throb. She put a finger up to the corner of her mouth and felt the warm liquid starting to run down her chin. _He's busted my lip. I never thought he was that strong, but it's quite obvious he is_. Though Adrian looked small, he was all muscle. Miranda began to get very frightened now.

He bent over at the waist and crooked his head to the left; a smug smirk crawling across his face.

"Adrian, no…please…no…" Miranda cried and began to shake as she looked up at him.

He turned her over on her back, ripped her skirt off and yanked open her blouse, causing the buttons to fly all over the room. As Adrian lowered himself upon her, she closed her eyes, and silently let the tears from her eyes fall.

Miranda blacked out near the end of the incident, but awoke enough to realize he was gone. She was alone. Alone and very afraid.

It's a cold and rainy Thursday morning in August. There was a rustling coming from inside the Manhattan townhouse.

Andy pulled up, looked out of her tinted windshield and saw Adrian storming out the door screaming obscenities about Miranda.

"Oh yea…There's Adrian. He must be going to…" Andy opened her car door and stands to notice bright red patches on his clothes and that he was feverishly pulling them off and stuffing them into the nearest trash bin before jumping into his car. "_NO!"_ She thought as she came to the conclusion that it was blood on his clothes. She didn't know whose it was; it could have been Miranda's or worse…the twins'. Andy shuddered at the thought.

Completely forgetting the groceries she had bought for the breakfast and leaving her car door wide open, Andy rushed to the doorsteps. Prepared to knock down the door, she noticed Adrian hadn't latched the door completely in his haste, so instead she threw the would-be barrier aside.

Once inside, she frantically yelled out for the Priestly women. "Miranda? Caroline? Cassidy?" She was running from room to room in a panic. "_God I hope I'm not too late…"_

Andy ran up the steps, skipping two or three at a time. She got to the top of the stairs and saw the bruised and bloody mess that was Miranda. "OH MY GOD! MIRANDA! What the hell did he do to you?"

Miranda was barely conscious and couldn't move or speak. "_How did she know Adrian did this? I just hope she doesn't pass out or something…"_

She retrieved her phone from her purse and called 911. Andy had enough mind about her not to mention Miranda's name in her frantic state or else they both would have been on Page 6 by the next morning. Miranda would, undoubtedly, call for 'damage-control' to where this little incident would never make the news.

Andy fell to her knees beside Miranda and gently brushed a lock of stray hair away from her bruised face. "God Miranda…I'm sorry…If only I had come earlier I could have stopped that bastard from hurting you like this…"

Andy stood up and left the room for a moment. "_No please don't leave me…" _Miranda pleadingly thought, but almost as soon as she left, she came back with a blanket and draped it over Miranda. "_Oh_, _no…I hadn't realized he left me naked…god…"_

As Andy was draping the blanket over Miranda, on the left wrist, she noticed the bracelet she had bought the older woman for her birthday. Andy's heart instantly filled with love and admiration.

"It's ok Miranda, I'm here and I'm not going to leave you. The paramedics are on their way." Andy stated as calmly as possible to Miranda while caressing the woman's cheek. Keeping her hand in place, she leaned over and put her cheek on Miranda's available one.

Miranda felt something warm gliding down her temple and heard whispered apologies being offered into her ear. "_She's crying over me…after all I did…" _Then everything went black again.

The ambulance arrived and whisked Miranda into the vehicle. They allowed Andy to ride with her since she was the only one there. She kept staring at Miranda while they loaded her up and put her inside the vehicle, all the while telling them how to do their job. "_Be careful with her! She's severely hurt!"_ As they pulled out into traffic, Andy took hold of Miranda's limp hand and pressed the back of it to her lips. A lump grew in her throat and she cried again, though this time it was harder, tears flooding over her face uninhibitedly.


	3. Sapphire Windows

Andy was pacing the hospital corridors after getting coffee. It had long since gone cold as the last hour replayed over and over in her mind like she was strapped in a chair being forced to watch it. She heard Miranda's moans of pain as clearly as she had heard them the first time in that semi-abandoned townhouse. Andy was jerked from her thoughts when she heard Miranda yelling.

"Where the bloody hell am I? I want to speak to someone immediately!"

"_Oh great…I better get in there before someone's face melts off." _Andy thought.

Andy tossed her full cup of cold coffee into the trash and began to trot towards the room. She beat the nurse there, and saw that Miranda was trying to pull all of the equipment off of her. Failing very much so because she was still too weak, she became more frustrated and upset. _Damn these machines to hell!_ Miranda thought with a mixture of desperation and anger.

Andy glided over to Miranda's side to try and calm her down.

"Miranda, it's alright. You're in the hospital. Adrian…" Andy paused. "Well, I don't need to tell you what happened. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, Miranda." She said with a heavy heart.

"Andrea, if you wanted, truly wanted to protect me; you wouldn't have left me in Paris." Miranda stated in a hurtful, matter-of-fact tone and glared at Andy.

"Miranda, I-"

"I don't want to hear it right now." She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment then looked away and stared out the window; trying hard not to break down like she did back in Paris. How humiliating would that be to breakdown in front of someone you're trying to put on a guilt trip?

"No, Miranda. We need t-to talk." This was all Andy could muster as she saw, once again, hurt in the woman's eyes. She knew it was not because of the physical pain. Andy had set her mind on what she was going to talk about, but seeing that look shifted her thoughts to the day she had seen it before; the day she saw Miranda across the street shortly after she returned to New York…

"_Oh no…there she is. Should I risk a wave? Why the hell not." _

_*waves*_

"_She's stopped. Is that good or bad?"_

_Miranda pulls down her sunglasses and Andy could see those piercing sapphire blue eyes peering at her over the rims straight into her soul. But surprisingly enough, it wasn't the death stare she's so used to or what she should have received after what happened, but it was a look of hurt and sadness._

_Andy didn't catch the twinkle of a tear shimmering in the sunlight as it fell from her eye. And she never would. The tear didn't have the chance to make a clear appearance because she slid the glasses back over her eyes, cunningly swiping away the tear, shutting both Andy and the world back out._

"_I had always thought Miranda's eyes were the most beautiful thing I've had ever seen. They were entrancing and exquisite. Like nothing I'd ever seen in anyone else's eyes." But the look then had her heart retching; the look of disarray._

_Miranda slowly took her place in the car and Andy walked away. She desperately wanted to run across that street and yank the woman from the car, take her into the tightest embrace ever known to man and apologize profusely. But that wasn't happening anytime soon._

_Andy gave a small sigh at the thought of the beauty and illusiveness of Miranda._

"Andrea? What is so intriguing about that lamp?" Miranda asked half-annoyed and half-worried. Andy had been staring at the bedside lamp for a few minutes now.

Andy shook her head back to the question in her mind. She decides not to ask it, knowing Miranda wouldn't want to answer it immediately, if at all; especially for her. Instead she asks, "How do you feel?" Andy had a slight cringe visible on her face at the juvenile question.

Miranda squints her eyes to a small slit and ignores the question. "Andrea, there is something I have been waiting a year to talk about." She said with a shudder, but there was a sarcastic lift in her voice.

Andy knew what she wanted to talk about: Paris.

"Yes, Miranda. What is it you wanted to talk about?" Andy decided to play dumb.

"You know very well what I want to talk about, _Andrea._" She tilts her head to the left and looks directly into Andy's eyes.

"I do?" _Caught._

"Of _course_ you do. So, why?" Miranda spat, growing more agitated by the second.

"Why?" _Shit_.

"Did I _stutter_?" Miranda shook her head at the word.

"N-no, Miranda. The thing is, is I can't really explain it. Not without giving too much away." _Double-shit._

"Giving what away, exactly?" _That you loathed me; that's what it was._

"Well…noth…I…it's…." _Triple-shit._

"Whatever." She said with an exasperated sigh. "Just get me out of here, Andrea. That's all." Miranda cut Andy off mid-stutter and absentmindedly looked back out the window of her room as she directed Andy to take care of the business of getting her out of the hospital. Anguish and a bit of annoyance lurking in her eyes.

_You made me break down Andrea. And what's worse, you have no idea of that fact… or the reason why._

Andy lurked back in to the room like a guilty puppy. "Miranda, I talked to the doctor and she wants to keep you here for a few days to make sure you're alright." A meek and worried tone audible in her voice.

"Oh well that's just great. I don't think _Runway_ or the entire fashion industry is going to come to a halt for me to heal in a hospital. Get me my phone," Miranda paused for a minute. "Please." She asked in a calm tone trying to ease Andy's worries, for what reason, she didn't know.

Andy stood in the same spot for what seemed like ages. _The word 'please' coming from_ _Miranda_? The _Miranda_? _What alternate universe am I _in_?_

This pleasant tone quickly disappeared when the now stunned Andy stood in place like a statue.

"Andrea. Phone. Now."Miranda elongated each word in a low, demanding tone.

"Oh! Sorry, Miranda. Yes, Miranda." Andy's voice quivered.

With a sense of dread, she realized she hadn't grabbed Miranda's purse. She would have to use the hospital's phone.

"Um, Miranda…You'll have to use the hospital phone. I-I didn't think to bring your purse with me."

"Fine. Give me the hospital phone then." She lowered her outstretched hand beside her on the bed with a thud.

Andy grabbed the base of the phone, pulled the cord out from behind the night stand, and placed it on the bed.

The delicate fingers nimbly dialed her Elias-Clarke office.

"Miranda Priestly's office." Emily answered in a hurried tone.

"Emily, I'm not going to go into specifics, but I need you, Nigel, and Serena to take over _Runway _for a couple of days. Perhaps a week." Miranda paused when she heard Emily gasp. "Of course, move my appointments to a better time for me…" Miranda kept listing things off for Emily to do while Andy sat in the recliner chair beside the bed and focused in on the surprisingly strong voice that came from such a weak looking body.

Miranda was back home after a couple days stay in the hospital. Andy had called her a few times after she had settled back down just to make sure she was alright, but due to family affairs and bigger responsibilities at work, Andy had fallen into the background after Miranda had completely healed. But the editor could take a bit of the blame for that also. She wished she had the nerve to get Andrea in her life and keep her there, but it seemed as if all she could do was mutter a 'Thank You' here and there. She couldn't even bring herself to pick up the phone and give her a call. This gave Andy the impression she wasn't wanted anymore. How could the queen of the Fashion industry be so confident with strangers and designers with huge egos, but not be able to simply pick up a phone to call one of her assistants that she'd grown to admire?

All of this was overwhelming to Miranda: her newfound emotional instability, the divorce papers and restraining orders still being filed, the constant nightmares of that horrendous night, and the sweet aroma of Andy's perfume. All presenting themselves at the front of her mind at the most inappropriate of times.

Miranda heard the alarm, flung her arm over her body and slapped the alarm clock off. She sat up in bed and upon moving, she realized she was drenched with sweat and tears, and she hadn't changed clothes. "Great. Passed out again. How much did I drink this time? Bloody hell my head hurts…" she said aloud to no one in particular. As if anyone would hear her atrocious, slurred British accent anyway is this lonesome abode. Even though the twins were home, they were still asleep and blissfully unaware of their mother's emotional and physical state.

"_Well, lived through another nightmare last night. _Ha. '_Another'. Like this one was any different than the other nights."_ She had the exact same nightmare every single night after the assault. Miranda was in ruins and starting to lose her mind. She had acquired an anxiety disorder and depression. Of course, she hadn't gone to a doctor about it yet, but instead sought advice from "Mr. Daniels". So far it hadn't been very good advice. It started out as once a week, but before long, once a week became twice a week, then 3 times a week until it finally became every day.

She managed to avoid drinking until after she kissed the twins' good night and they were well asleep. This happened to be whenever she got home or was through with the Book. Every night was followed by an equally horrible or worse day at _Runway_. The days were this way because not only was she miserable when she dreamt of Andy at night, she was miserable during the day; all she could think of was Andy, and in her half hung-over half still-drunk state, was haunted by her voice even while awake.

Though once she was able to be at home, her only sanctuary, she let her guard down. She would head straight for the liquor cabinet after the twins were in bed and stumbled around as she attempted to pace about the study. Once she was too drunk to walk, she would crawl on the floor and up the stairs to get to bed. She didn't even bother to take her make-up off anymore. This, and the drinking, aged her skin more; she was starting to actually look older than she was. This would have been something to deter her from drinking, had not the alcohol become such a big crutch in her life now. Miranda was on a fast track downhill and nobody could save her except for a certain brunette that took her heart, broke it, and threw it back at her feet. "_Why the hell do I still have feelings for this woman?"_ All she wanted now was to be numb, but that eluded her, along with everything else. She pulled herself up to the bed and sat on the edge, pulled her blouse off and threw it to the floor, then lay on her back as she awkwardly removed her skirt and tossed it, too, on the floor. Her shoes had been discarded at the entrance of the townhouse many hours ago.

Miranda, clad in only her undergarments, shifted to lie on her side then curled up under the covers. She laid her tousled spinning head on the soft stationary pillow, pulled the warm sheets up to her cheeks and cried herself to sleep that night, just as she did every night.

Miranda was awoken by the irritating sound of her alarm clock to which she drowsily turned off. She rolled lazily out of bed, picked up her discarded clothes and dropped them into the hamper, then headed over to her closet, picked out a fresh outfit that she would wear for the day and shuffled towards the shower. As she made her way, she passed by a mirror and saw her hair was matted; her lipstick smeared; mascara seemingly melting from her glazed eyes.

She reached up and ruffled her platinum hair with her hands. "Oh, lovely." Saying and letting out a long sigh.

She wiped at her lipstick. _Ugh. I never did like the color peach._

She reached up to wipe her eyes but simply laid her shaking fingertips just below them where the bags began to settle. "My eyes…" Despair rebounding in her voice. Those eyes looked so lifeless and hazed with fatigue. She didn't even recognize them anymore. They didn't have the same zeal as they once had. Even though that zeal had been harsh and unforgiving most of the time, they at least had life in them. Now they were a pale teal and seemingly more guarded and closed off than before. It was as if the sapphire windows had iced over and nothing would be able to clear them; not the scolding stare that came from behind them, and certainly not the warmness from others, feigned by their fear of "The Beheader Editor"; as they now so affectionately called her behind her back.

She took a deep breath and forged on towards the bathroom. Once in the shower, she succumbed to her emotions. This was one of the only places she was allowed to be human…no matter how degrading and weak she felt it was. How much she felt _she_ was degraded and weak. Miranda bent over from the agony she let surge though her body. She went to her knees and wept; for what, she wasn't exactly sure. She had been hurt by the betrayal of Andy, but she had been betrayed so many times before Andrea and was sure there would be more to come. It stung to have someone disrespect her the way Andy did, but she wasn't the only one and surely wouldn't be the last. Miranda couldn't force herself to be angry at her; she desperately wanted to feel angry. That, at least, was an emotion she knew. But this, this depression was uncharacteristic. Anger she knew how to handle, but these foreign emotions were just that - foreign. She didn't understand them or know how to really handle them. What she did know was that she had to get a grip and put on the Ice Queen masque and forge through this for the sake of everything else still stable in her life. "_Andrea was just a passing vapor in your life, Miranda; Here for a while and then gone again in an instant, leaving as quickly and suddenly as she had appeared."_

She took a washcloth to scrub her face, removing any remains of makeup and salty bitterness. Then turned her back to the water to let it soak her hair and fall across her face, mixing with new tears. The mixture rolled down her chest, trickled across her stomach and glided onto her legs. Cascading off of her, along with the imperfections of the flesh, were the cares and the emotions of the weak Miranda deserting their host who was left standing in the warm water as they vanished down the drain. She dried off and from the foggy bathroom doors stepped out as the Ice Queen, prepared to face another dreadful, unnerving day at work.

When Miranda returned from the hospital, almost everything at work had changed except for the magazine itself. Miranda became more on edge and more moody because of her drinking and emotional state. She walked in leaving scared employees in her wake; a hung-over and depressed Miranda was not a pretty sight to behold. Everyone at _Runway _became more paranoid and would visibly shiver when she passed by. No one dared say her name or even cast a meek glance in her direction. Emily was more uptight than usual and Nigel was a bit more distant. The two people whom she trusted and relied on the most were, in her mind, turning their backs on her. This did not help her depression at all. What she needed was comfort, but that among many other things, was deprived of her.

This particular morning, Emily was hesitant to come into Miranda's office and inform her of some slightly bad news about a photo shoot. She was a little more than unwilling, and when she let Miranda know about it, Miranda flew off the handle. She took it out on the poor Second Assistant and made her run quite a few impossible errands.

A few hours later, Emily tread more carefully around the editor. She actually told her to "_sit down for this one_". The twins' father had called to say he wouldn't be able to take them on their winter vacation as previously planned. Her efforts to contain the Dragon Lady was to no avail, of course, and Miranda went on a rampage, rambled off things for Emily to do, including calling the twins' grandmother on their father's side and setting up a vacation there. She finished by yelling "THAT'S ALL!" thrusting her hands at Emily in a "shoo-ing" fashion making the bracelet on her left wrist fly off and shattered against the opposite wall. Both the women watched with wide eyes as it hit and broke into tiny pieces. Miranda grabbed her wrist and held it close to her chest. "_Oh, my god…An-Andrea…"_

Emily didn't dare look back at Miranda, but stood in the same spot, mouth agape, and stared at the pile of fractured jewelry.

"Emily, clean that up and order a new one. That's all." Miranda said surprisingly calm as her eyes still focused on the pile, too. Emily didn't hesitate to high-tail it out of there.

Once she left, the now fragile façade of the editor began to crack, small pieces beginning to fall. She walked over to the window, propped herself on the sill and used a shaking hand to cover her mouth as she muffled a small whimper.

Unbeknownst to Miranda, Emily heard the cry. She instantly became worried and knew she had to talk to someone.

Emily ordered the fifth new Second Assistant in two weeks, "You. Take care of the phones until I return."

"_My god Miranda. What the hell is going on?" _Emily thought as she took off down the hall.

Emily ran as fast and gracefully as she could in her 4 inch heels to Nigel's office. She thrust open the doors to his office, marched directly up to him and just stood there.

"What?" Nigel asked very curiously.

"She's been like this since she returned from her leave, Nigel." Emily stated. Miranda hadn't told anyone at _Runway_ anything about what really happened. Why would she? She knew as soon as they knew, they would pity her. She never really liked pity.

"Well Emily, you know we can't really do anything. Yes, she likes us, but not enough to truly confide in. However, I do believe we know someone like that, no?" Nigel stated the latter very matter-of-factly.

"Bloody hell, Nigel! If she's in a bad enough mood now, she'll go on a killing spree as soon as she sets eyes on Andy!" Emily was very shocked that Nigel would even consider bringing _her_ to _Runway_ again.

"Emily, who else are we going to call, hmm?" He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

She lets out a loud exasperated sigh. "I guess you're right." Emily turned her head away, defeated. After a few seconds, she turned back. "Give me her number. Of all people, I know _you_ would have it."

"Hello?"

"Andy! Thank god you finally answered your phone! It's been ringing for 10 seconds!" Emily said melodramatically.

Andy shook her head secretly to herself. "Em, what's up?"

"It's Miranda." Emily replied with a sigh and her voice low.

Andy's heart sank. "What's wrong?"

"Well, it's just that she's been really upset lately. Really, ever since she returned from her leave. She's gone completely bonkers! Even changed her office décor completely! You should see the god awful furniture in there, Andy…"

Andy knew _exactly_ what was bothering Miranda. She had been there to rescue her after all. "Em, is she still in her office?"

"Yes, you twit, of course she's still in her office! Why do you think I'm calling from Nigel's office?"

_I didn't know you were calling from there you idiotic…_ "Alright, Em. Does she have any appointments today?"

"No, it's after 3 now, so of course not." _You'd think after being Miranda's assistant she would know these things._

"Alright. I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Good. And…Andy?"

"Yea, Em?"

"I'm really worried about her. She flew off the handle twice today and the second time, I heard her…cry. This is really serious." Emily said with notable concern in her voice.

Andy closed her eyes and took in a ragged breath. "Ok, Em. I'll get to the bottom of it."

Andy cantered into the Elias-Clark building, checked in and received her pass. She hurriedly trotted to the elevators and jumped in one as it began to close.

She almost broke into a dead sprint when she entered into the Runway hallway heading towards Miranda's office had not the eerie look of the dark room at the end of the way stopped her. _An omen perhaps?_

Miranda was sitting at her desk, her head beginning to spin. She held her head in her hands as tears threatened to run down her face. _Bloody hell, why do I have to have an attack here? Shit… _She gasped for breath as her legs bounced in rhythm to her speeding heartbeat. She gained enough control to get up and stagger to her personal bathroom in the corner of her office.

She heard someone coming towards her office and she sat on a chair conveniently placed in the room. Her sight was still swimming as she heard the footsteps get closer and closer until they paused somewhere within her office. She tried to wipe the saltiness away and calm her breathing.

Andy walked in and saw the deep brown walls that managed to match amazingly with her eyes. A new desk had replaced the previous white and glass one, sheer beige curtains covered half the windows, paintings of sunsets hung awkwardly on the walls, abstract vases placed upon slender dark oak tables, and there were absolutely no mirrors…

Andy took in the office's new look; it was quite disturbing. What must be going through Miranda's mind that she would change the interior of her office so drastically?

"Miranda?" She called out.

That voice; that deliciously evil voice. It only belonged to one person; the one person that meant the most to Miranda, besides her girls, and ended up hurting her the most, more than any of the silly men in her life.

The footsteps kept getting closer until they stopped in the doorway of the secret room. The intruder was staring at the huddled frame in the chair. Miranda looked up at the brown doe eyes wide with concern and straightway rose from where she was sitting, flew past the slender body in the way, walked towards her desk chair positioned herself towards the window away from Andy, and once again huddled over like a scorned child.

"Shut the door,_ Andrea._" Miranda tried to keep all emotion out of her voice, but as she said the younger woman's name, her voice cracked ever so slightly. Nobody else would have noticed, but Andy noticed very much and caught the red flag that it was.

"Miranda, what's wrong?" Andy asked, turning around as she closed the door.

Miranda hesitantly put aside her hurt from Andy and opened up. "I don't know what's wrong, Andréa. I just seem to be falling apart at the seams. Nothing is going right and everything-everything is just falling down around me."

Miranda started to cry.

This sent shivers down Andy's spine because she knew if Miranda was crying, this _was_ bad. _Really_ bad.

Miranda was still turned towards the window, so Andy walked around to rest upon her own knees in front of Miranda and look up into those dismally blue eyes.

"Miranda, I think you need to go home for the day. To get some rest, ok? Maybe that will help." Andy took Miranda's hands into her own and kissed them both gently. This sent chills up Miranda's arms and ended as a warm feeling in her chest.

"Fine. I guess I can leave for the rest of the day." She said somewhat disappointed, but rest sounded like a good idea.

"Wonderful. You ready?" Andy stood up still holding Miranda's hands.

"Yes, let me get my coat and purse." Miranda rose to get her things and her legs shook a little.

"Miranda, sit. I'll get your things. You just wait here, regain your composure and I'll be back, ok?" Andy told her in a stern, but soft voice.

This was against what the confident Miranda usually would do, but she whispered her agreement. "Alright. You promise you'll be right back?"

Andy looked a little surprised at the quiet insecurity in Miranda's voice, but looked into her eyes and said, "Yes, Miranda. I promise." She then turned and walked out of Miranda's office, stepped over to Emily and asked her to get Miranda's coat and purse.

Emily looked at Andy in mild surprise for a fraction of a second then practically took a single leap over to the closet and fetch Miranda's things. She returned and handed the valuables over. As she did so, she leaned in close to Andy and whispered, "Is she alright?"

Andy looked back at Emily and gave a small grin. "She will be."

Andy came back into Miranda's office with the editor's coat and purse, laid the things on the desk and offered her hand to help Miranda from the chair. Miranda had gained control of herself and even managed to fix her make-up in the short amount of time, so the hand wasn't needed, but she took it anyway. Andy then grabbed Miranda's coat, put it around the older woman's shoulders and politely handed over the purse.

Miranda sat the purse back down and turned to face the woman in her office. They stood facing each other for a few moments until Miranda succumbed to the tension and fell onto Andy's body, wrapping her arms around the younger woman's shoulders. _My god how I've missed you._ She pulled back, keeping her hands on Andy's shoulders, and looked deep into those mesmerizing eyes before she quickly placed a small kiss on her cheek, turned and walked out, leaving a stunned Andy in her wake.

She stepped out of her office with a slight smirk on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. At long last those windows began to clear up as soon as the deep brown orbs appeared, melting the frost on the sapphire windows, letting the light shine through.


	4. Broken Window

Silvia is mine; sadly, Miranda and Andy are not.

* * *

Roy was waiting at the front of Elias-Clarke with the door open for both women.

Andy walked discreetly close to Miranda until they had reached the car and stepped aside to let her in.

In the car, Miranda was very fidgety. She kept twiddling her thumbs and brushing away invisible trash from her skirt. Andy impulsively placed her right hand over both Miranda's to calm them. Andy looked over at her with a smirk, but she didn't receive one in return. Instead she noticed the woman staring at her hand. Feeling insecure and slightly foolish, she hesitantly removed her hand and placed it back in her own lap. To her surprise, however, the platinum haired woman slides over to the center of the seat, reaches out to take Andy's hand and clasps both her hands around it. Then Andy receives the smirk she was looking for, but missed it because she was busy staring at their hands.

As they approached the townhouse and came to a stop, Miranda let go of the other woman's hand and slides back to her side of the vehicle. Andy started to open her door, but Miranda jerked her head towards her and swiftly grabbed her shoulder.

"Roy will open the door for you." Miranda stated.

"It's really no problem." Andy tried to brush the offer away.

"_Andrea_, Roy will get the door for you." The editor stated her words more firmly.

Andy simply blinked a few times and resolved to politely sit still as she waited for Roy to open her door. One knows never to argue with the force of nature that was the Editor-in-Chief of Runway. After letting Miranda out, Roy quickly stepped to the other side of the Mercedes to let Andy out. As she exited the vehicle, she directed an apologetic grimace to Roy.

The women entered the house and Miranda took Andy's coat to place it on a hanger, did the same with her own; all the while the younger woman had her head tilted to the side lightly scratching behind her ear, trying to make sense of why _Miranda_ would be hanging up _her_ coat. "_Shouldn't _I_ be the one doing that_?" Andy was a bit confused.

"Make yourself comfortable in the study. I'll be right with you." Miranda instructed.

"Oh, I-I'm just staying long enough to make sure you're alright an-and settled." Andy shyly replied.

Miranda straightened up, though her shoulders dropped. She turned her head to the right just enough to see Andy in her peripheral vision.

"Well, you might as well go ahead and leave then because I'm fine." Miranda said with a slight whimper.

"Miranda, you know I didn't mean it like I was in a hurry or anything. I-I really do want to make sure you're alright." Andy tried to recover.

"Seems ironic how you're so interested in my well-being now. You weren't so caring that night in Paris." Miranda had turned around and started to walk towards Andy; head cocked to the side, arms folded to her chest. Though her eyes were glaring, her chin was quivering.

"M-Miranda, I…" but as Andy began her apology, Miranda suddenly began to cry in front of Andy; letting her guard fall. The editor covered her mouth with a hand and wrapped the other arm around her waist to have some control as she bent over from the sobs.

Andy's heart dropped and she instinctively lurched forward intending to catch Miranda. Instead, the fragile woman turned away and quickly trotted towards the study.

Andy's eyes followed after Miranda; her heart filled with conflicting emotions. It wasn't until Miranda sat down that Andy found the will to lurk into the room.

As Andy rounded the corner, she noticed Miranda sitting on the edge of the sofa with her head and hands between her knees.

Andy moved to sit beside her and placed her hand on Miranda's back.

They stayed in this position until the editor was ready to talk.

"_I didn't think it was really this serious…_" Andy thought with dread.

Miranda straightened up on the couch and let out a long sigh. With this, Andy caught the scent of whiskey and her mind raced back to that night she had first smelled that horrendous odor. The only picture that came to mind was Miranda lying at the top of the stairs looking like a discarded rag doll.

Shivers ran from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

"Andrea, what were you thinking about?" Miranda asked with her eyebrows raised.

"Um, nothing. I-I-I've-I need to go." Still in a haze, Andy rose and slowly turned to leave.

"No." Miranda spat out and lunged towards Andy, taking hold of her arm. "Stay. You must stay f-for the night, at least. It is late after all." The editor strived for a stern command, but all she could emit was a humble plea.

"Miranda, I can't just put my life on hold for you right now. I've got an article due in the morning and it's not even finished yet." Andy stated in a half-irritated and half-sympathetic voice, trying to reason with Miranda.

Miranda simply sat, a glare slowly tried to appear on her face, but was beaten by the emotions she was attempting to hide. The rims of her eyes grew red, tears threatened to spill over and her chin began to quiver again.

"Al-alright Miranda. I'll stay for one night downstairs. That's all." Andy only slightly unwillingly agreed.

Miranda sighed and a small grin crept across her lips. "Thank you."

Early the next morning, Miranda awoke to the sound of her bedroom door being shut. _"Was that Andrea checking in on me?"_ She climbed out of bed and hurried down the steps, but by the time she was halfway down, she only caught a glimpse of brown hair floating out the front door.

"_It was her, but she left without saying a simple goodbye."_

With disappointment and hurt, she stood there on the steps staring at the door. Then, she relapsed into her old habit. She marched over to the liquor cabinet, pulled out a whiskey bottle and gulped down 1/4th of the strong liquid before taking another breath.

She coughed as she began trudging up the stairs back to her bedroom and flipping on the light as she re-entered the bedroom.

A few hours and a bottle of whiskey later, Miranda heard the front door open and she desperately hoped it was Andy coming back.

"Miss Miranda! It's me, Silvia!" A voice called up to her.

Miranda slouched over and ran a hand through her platinum locks.

A few minutes later, she stood up to walk to the bathroom and take a shower to clean up. As she passed the mirror, something in it caught her eye. She took a few steps back and turned to face the mirror. She looked at herself in the mirror, though she didn't see _herself_; she saw the mess she had become.

"_A drunken mess."_ She whispered aloud.

Then, memories flickered across the glass. The mirror she looked into seemed to be a window into her life. She could see the life before her, but it didn't look the way it should. This wasn't the Miranda she had once been. This was some new creature that stared back at her through this two-way mirror. She was watching this _thing_ live her life and it was blithely unaware of the true Miranda.

Absentmindedly, she kicked off a shoe, quickly bent down, picked it up and threw it at the stranger in the mirror. Instantly, the shattered pieces of mirrored glass hit the floor.

The sound of the glass sobered Miranda up enough for her to realize what she had just done.

"_Oh just bloody fantastic._" Miranda mumbled the slurred words under her breath.

"Silvia! Come to my room immediately and clean this mess! I can't possibly have glass in my carpet now can I? Call whoever it is that has windows a..." Stunned, Miranda caught the mistake she had made of calling the mirror a 'window' and she thought back to the moment before she destroyed the mirror. She stood, swaying in place, staring at her reflection in a large piece of glass on the floor.

Miranda heard her housekeeper trot towards the bedroom. Silvia stood awkwardly in the doorway, not sure what to do. She kept moving her eyes from the pile of glass shards to the equally shattered editor.

"Don't just stand there, clean this mess and order me a new mirror. Immediately. That's all." Miranda's annoyed tone jump-started Silvia and the maid hurried back down the stairs to retrieve the needed supplies.

Slowly, clumsily she stalked to her bathroom and put her back against the wall. Placing her hands over her face, she slid down the rough wall to sit on the cold tiles, her knees bending towards her chest, becoming a resting place for her elbows. She sat there on her bathroom floor, tears pooling in her palms.

Andy was sitting at her desk at The Mirror, her hand propping up her head that was quickly filling with thoughts of the platinum haired woman, when the sound of her phone vibrating startled her. She looked at the screen and noticed it was Emily.

"Why the hell is she calling me now?" Andy said aloud, half-expecting an answer from the phone itself.

"What is it, Em?" Andy answered in haste and agitation. "I'm in the middle of…"

"Andy, listen! Miranda is not at work and she won't answer her phone. You know I would go to her townhouse personally if I weren't here trying to keep things from falling apart…" While Emily went off on a self-righteous rant, Andy had already shut her laptop closed, grabbed her purse and headed out the door at the mere mention of Miranda's name.

"How long have you been trying to reach her?" Andy asked with urgency.

"…and it seems Nigel and Serena aren't going to be of much help. Oh, what did you say?" Emily, still gushing upon herself, realized Andy had spoken to her.

"How long…have you…been trying…to reach…Miranda?" Andy broke up the sentence and enunciated the words with fervor. She pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and let out an agitated, rushed sigh.

"Oh my, for like half an hour now I suppose." Emily had glanced at her watch and was a bit shocked at the time.

"Half an hour? Miranda Priestly is half an hour late and you're just now calling someone to check on her? Are you barking mad? Especially after what she's been through, five minutes late is call for caution!" Andy had stopped in the middle of the road, yelling at Emily through the phone. The world had begun to spin and her heart was racing.

"What she's been through? Are you saying you know something I don't?" Emily was quite curious and a bit jealous at the fact Andy knew more about her former boss that Emily did.

Andy shook her head and hailed a taxi. She didn't even wait for it to come to a complete stop before she lunged for it, opened the door and tossed herself inside.

Andy was halfway to the townhouse and Emily was still jabbering on about how much needed to be done for the magazine. "_Geez, Em, for someone who 'adores' Miranda so much, it seems you couldn't care less about her right now_." Andy had to bite her tongue not to say this aloud to the girl.

The taxi pulled up to Miranda's townhouse. Andy literally threw money into the front passenger seat and quickly exited the vehicle. "Em, I'm here. I'll have to let you go. I'll talk to you later, maybe." Andy anxiously blurted out.

"Alright." Emily took on a serious and worried tone. "Call me back, will you? Le-let me know how she is, ok?"

_Finally the schizo First Assistant sounds like she cares. _"I will try." Andy really would try, though she didn't know if she'd have the opportunity to do so.

Andy had last been in the townhouse around four hours ago. Last night, she didn't do any snooping of any sort, but walking back in this morning in search of Miranda, doing some sleuthing might help.

She dug into her purse, fishing around for the key. She finally retrieved the key to the editor's home she still had stowed away in the inside pocket of her purse. Since this was the only tie she had to Miranda for a year, it always stayed with her, even now.

Taking the front steps two at a time, she thrust the key into the door and walked into the townhouse slowly. Dread surged through her body as she remembered finding Miranda's frail body the last time she had entered the townhouse calling out the older woman's name and she hoped upon hope she would not stumble upon that scene now or ever again.

Upon looking around the first floor for the missing editor, she glanced down the hall and noticed the bar cabinet was open. With a deep breath, she moved into a room on the left and then checked the kitchen.

"Miranda?" Andy gently calls.

With no response, she stepped further into the kitchen, looked down and found an empty liquor bottle neck poking out of the trash.

"Shit." Andy sighed with sadness clenching her chest.

Pushing the bottle back into the trash, she wiped her hand on her blouse and turned around to walk out of the room. Entering the hallway, she curved to the left and quickened her pace down the hall to the study where the editor usually spends most of her time.

"Miranda?" Andy called gently, but with more urgency than before.

As she walked into the dimly lit room, she heard something crinkle under her feet. When Andy hesitantly looked down, slight horror filled her chest. The Book's pages were strewn all across the floor. "Assistant instincts" kicked in and she quickly crouched down to pick up the scattered papers. She rose from picking up the mess and the waste basket caught her eye. Small bottles lined the bottom with tissues attempting to cover them.

"My god, Miranda." Andy suddenly became verklempt; her voice cracking upon saying the other woman's name.

She dropped the papers on the desk and hurried out of the study, making the upper floor her next destination. She took large strides towards the stairs and then took two steps at a time.

Upon reaching the second floor, Andy yelled out for the older woman.

"Miranda, where are you?" Urgency and apprehension clearly audible in her voice. She stood on the landing, trying to figure out which door to open first. She ran her fingers through her bangs and stopped her hand at the top of her head, digging her nails into her scalp.

"_Which one are you in, dammit?_" Andy thought.

Suddenly a door opened. Andy jerked her head around, almost giving herself whiplash and yanking out her hair.

"Oh, hello Miss. You must be a friend of Miss Miranda. I believe she's still in her bedroom. That door over there beside the window. Knock first, Miss. She doesn't like to be disturbed while in her bedroom." Silvia politely stated, pointing towards the door farthest to the left.

"Thank you." Andy quickly blurted, rushing for the door.

Her legs felt more like lead with every step she took towards that door. Her heart beat faster, dangerously close to beating out of her chest, and her palms began to sweat to the point she wiped them on her blouse continuously. Finally reaching her destination, she latched onto the doorknob, turned it with a quick flip of her wrist and pushed the door open. "_Forget about knocking first, Miranda could be in trouble._"

Andy opened the door to find another dark room. Fumbling her hand across the wall to her right, she found the light switch and flipped it on. Her brow furrowed as she took in the sight of the disheveled bed, large empty liquor bottle, and the pieces of the broken mirror still in place above the dresser.

Her heart sank down to her toes and her stomach threatened to move upwards. She stood still for a moment, taking in all the chaos. Then she heard faint whimpering sounds coming from behind the closed door on the opposite end of the room. Andy lept towards it and swung the door wide open.

The sight she saw took her back once more to when she had found Miranda in a similar position that night of the assault. Despite feeling weak in the knees, Andy ran over to a shaking Miranda and dropped to the floor beside her.

Miranda was shaking violently and lying on the bathroom floor, caught up in an anxiety attack.

Andy grabbed Miranda by the shoulders and pulled her up into a sitting position. "Miranda. Mir-Miranda….Focus on me. Look in my eyes, Miranda…." The shaking woman raised her head and looked into Andy's eyes. Andy could see the fear in those liquid blue irises.

"An-Andrea, I-I didn't know where you ha-had gone. You-you left wi-without telling me wh-where you went." Miranda was hyperventilating and shook her head, making her already disheveled hair scatter more.

Andy's brow furrowed and her heart sank into her stomach. Though she wanted to ask the woman why she didn't just call her cell, she couldn't find the words to do so. She looked at the trembling woman and said "Come here, ok?" Andy's voice was small and humble. Miranda met eyes with Andy once again and a small smile played on the corners of her lips.

Andy wrapped her arms around Miranda and tried to comfort her as best she could. Her chest felt too compressed to even breathe, let alone speak above a whisper. "It'll all be ok, Miranda, I'm here now. I won't ever leave you again." Miranda reciprocated the gentle embrace and hid her face in Andy's shoulder, finding calmness in the warmth.


	5. Opened Windows

Opened Windows

Andy had stayed the night at Miranda's townhouse once again, but this time she called in to work.

"Greg, hey, it's Andy. I'm going to have to stay home for a while I've – uh – got some family issues I need to take care of. If you could just send my assignments to my email, I'll keep up with my work. I just need to be here to take care of…stuff." Andy inwardly chuckled and cringed at the thought of what Miranda's face would look like if she ever knew Andy had called her 'stuff'.

After getting the approval from her boss, Andy walked into the kitchen and began boiling water for tea. With the water situated nicely on the stove, she sauntered over to Miranda's bookshelf and picked up a book. "Ah. Robert Frost."

Upon opening the book, Andy noticed a sticky-note attached to one of the pages; particularly a certain poem.

"Now Close the Windows." Andy read aloud.

Intrigued, she began reading the poem, lightly whispering the words to herself.

"_Now close the windows and hush all the fields_

_If the trees must, let them silently toss:_

_No bird is singing now, and if there is,_

_Be it my loss._

_It will be long ere the marshes resume,_

_I will be long ere the earliest bird_

_So close the windows and not hear the wind,_

_But see all wind-stirred."_

Andy suddenly realized a tear had formed and made its way down her cheek. She glanced at he sticky-note attached and noted it had the date of the Paris incident on it.

Andy closed her eyes to hold in the onslaught of tears prepared to fall.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she heard the timer ring out telling her the water was ready. She carried the book with her to the kitchen and placed it on the counter so she could fix her tea.

Approving of the mixture in the mug, she picked up the book again and walked over to the couch and swiftly sat.

She curled up in the seat, book in one hand and mug in the other, diving back into the poems.

Miranda awoke to the pounding of a headache. Remembering the end of the night before, she desperately hoped Andy was still there.

Slowly rising from the bed, the world was still spinning wildly. She looked over to her left; a glass of water with a considerable amount of condensation was sitting on a coaster on the bedside table. Proof Andy was still there.

The editor gathered herself and wrapped her silk housecoat loosely around her body.

She subconsciously groomed her hair as she walked down the stairs, slowly making her way to the first floor. A glance in the direction of the living room revealed a brown-haired beauty draped over one of the sofas, intently reading. All the world came to a halt and a smile graced her lips.

Miranda finished her trek down the stairs and walked over to Andy's side.

"Oh, I adore Robert Frost." A crisp, yet soft voice rang out beside the young woman's ear.

This made her flinch a little and feel a bit guilty that she had simply made herself at home. But in a strange way, she felt like she belonged here…

"Oh. Good morning, Miranda. Let me fetch you some tea." Andy smiled at the slight grimace on the editor's face, sat her mug down and placed the book on the coffee table upside down, open to a page she had not read yet.

Miranda sat, picked up her book and smiled at the page she saw. Particularly a certain poem she had loved for a long time. Though, to be honest, she hadn't thought much of the poem until the very day Andrea started working for her.

As Andy returned with a hot mug of tea, she noticed the older woman was holding the book and smiling.

Starting to smile herself, Andy asked "Which one are you reading?" then sat and handed Miranda her tea.

"Never Again Would Bird's Song Be the Same." Miranda said in a floating tone.

Andy's first thought was that it might be a sad poem, but if it was, why would Miranda be smiling?

"Would you read it to me?" Andy asked shyly.

Miranda took a sip of her tea, grimaced again, cleared her throat, and began reading to Andy.

"_He would declare and could himself believe_

_That the birds there in all the garden round_

_From having heard the daylong voice of Eve_

_Had added to their own, an oversound,_

_Her tone of meaning but without the words…"_

Miranda paused to look over at Andy who was clutching her mug to her chest and gazing at Miranda who, in turn, blushed.

"…_Admittedly an eloquence so soft_

_Could only have had an influence on birds_

_When call or laughter carried it aloft._

_Be that as may be, she was in their song…"_

The older woman blushed harder. Andy noted this and moved closer.

"…_Moreover her voice upon their voices crossed_

_Had now persisted in the woods so long_

_That probably it never would be lost._

_Never again would birds' song be the same._

_And to do that to birds was why she came."_

Miranda finished reading and added extra emphasis and meaning into the last line.

She placed the book down on the table and began to drink her quickly cooling tea.

Andy tilts her head over to look at Miranda. The older woman catches the look and a smile plays on her lips again.

Miranda took both mugs from the table and stood. "I think these have cooled far too much to be good any longer."

"Starbucks run?" Andy interjected, already standing and searching for her purse.

"No, it's fine Andrea." Miranda called out from the kitchen.

The baffled younger woman lay her purse back down and walked into the kitchen. "Alright, so now what?"

"The twins should be here soon, so we'll have plenty to do then." The editor chuckled and turned to lean back on the counter while the younger woman sat on a bar stool.

"Oh gosh…I haven't seen them since I was your assistant. They're gonna hate me…" Andy became very nervous in an instant.

"I think I know of a way we could help that." Miranda got a mischievous look in her eye and went to her pantry. She came out with a bag of flour, chocolate chips, and sugar. She stepped over to the refrigerator and pulled out milk and eggs.

"Cookies, Miranda?" Andy looked in disbelief at the gathering of ingredients.

"Yes, but you and the girls will be baking them." This is where the mischievous look turned upon the young woman.

"Do you really think they'll want to bake cookies with me?" Andy asked, still in disbelief.

"Yes, Andrea. Trust me will you?" Miranda used a lighter version of her infamous tone.

"Alright. But just because it's you." She gave a sly smile to the older woman.

The twins arrived into the home, much like a pack of wild horses.

"Mom! Mom! Mom!" Both girls came in yelling out for their mother. They had won another science project, undoubtedly made by Emily.

"We're in the kitchen, Bobbsies." Miranda airily called out.

The twins exchanged a glance and made a quick trip into the kitchen. Upon seeing Andy there, they dropped their bags to the floor and stared at the woman.

Andy steeled herself for whatever twin attack there was going to be, but to her utter surprise, they ran over to her and hugged her around the waist.

"We're so glad your back to make mom happy again!" Cassidy blurted out, making both Andy and Miranda blush feverishly.

"Girls, how's about we make some chocolate chip cookies?" Andy meekly asked, still a little choked up by their sudden showing of affection.

"That'd be great!" They both chorused.

"Alright then, girls, go put your things in your room and wash up." Miranda warmly told her children.

The two women were left alone in the kitchen, sharing a wonderful moment and a smile.

The twins came galloping down the stairs, hair pinned back, and ready to bake.

"Did you girls wash your hands?" Andy asked kindly.

"Yes, Andy." They chorused in a true Priestly tone.

The young woman smiled. "Good. Caroline, you can stand on this side and Cassidy, you can stand on the other."

"I prefer the left side." Caroline sarcastically stated, attempting to start a bickering war with her sister, but Andy put a stop to it before it could start.

"That's fine Caroline. But then we'll have to let Cassidy ask which side she would prefer, also." Andy received a disbelieving look from Caroline and an admiring one from Cassidy.

"The right side is fine, Andy." Cassidy smiled up at the brunette.

"Alright, let's get started." Andy opened the bag of flour and began mixing the ingredients with the help of the twins.

Miranda sauntered out knowing the girls were in good hands.

Around an hour and a half later, the oven rang out that the batch of cookies were through. Andy opened the oven door, the twins on either side of her, and they all took in a deep breath of the sweet aroma.

Miranda walked into the kitchen as the younger woman was placing the delectables on a plate.

Walking over, the editor picked up a cookie, looked at the surface of it, and then took a large bite.

The twins looked with wide eyes as their health-nut mother ate a chocolate chip cookie. They kept snickering and huddling together trying not to burst out in laughter.

Andy, on the other hand, looked and listened with wide eyes and ears while Miranda's eyes held a look of pure ecstasy as she let out little moans of pleasure. This was very arousing to Andy of course, so she couldn't help but stare.

When Miranda noticed that she was being watched, she blurted out "Do I have something in my teeth?" and covered her mouth with her hand.

Andy cocked her head to the side and got a mischievous gleam in her eye. She started to walk over to the bowl that still held a bit of flour, and secretively grabbed a handful of the white powder. "No, but you do have a bit of something in your hair." And with that said, she tossed the powder onto Miranda.

The editor just stood there not moving a muscle. Her eyes darted open and she shook her head so the flour fell out and onto her shoulders.

Everything was still…

Miranda slowly walked up to the brunette, grabbing a handful of flour as she passed the bowl.

Standing a few inches away from the young woman, the editor tossed the flour in Andy's face.

Andy laughed and the twins squealed in laughter.

The young woman wiped away the flour and when she opened her eyes again, she caught sight of piercing blue irises shining and a true smile on the face of the woman in front of her.

While the two women were preoccupied with each other, the younger more devious Priestly girls had picked up the bowl of flour and were inching their way to their mother and Andy.

On their count of three, they tossed all of the flour on the two.

Completely covered in white, the women wipe away the powder on their face, look at each other, simultaneously turn and take a step towards the twins.

The young girls squeal with the joy of a chase and run away laughing.

As the two women turn to walk out of the kitchen, they slip on the massive amount of flour on the floor and fall. Andy ends up on top of Miranda, their noses practically touching.

Andy gasps realizing how close they are, but doesn't move.

Miranda's blue eyes darken with arousal from the closeness of their bodies.

Pulses quicken, breaths deepen, and senses heighten.

Suddenly they hear muted footsteps coming towards them.

"Stay for dinner?" Miranda huskily asks.

"Love to." Andy quickly answers.

The twins came stomping into the kitchen again, bringing the two lustful women back into the world.

"Mom?" Caroline called out apprehensively.

"Andy?" Cassidy questioned with a lift at the end.

"Oh, w-we slipped on the fl-flour and fell." Andy tried to explain while also trying to get off Miranda and the floor.

Miranda let out a hardy laugh making the room instantly feel lighter.

Andy smiled down at Miranda who was still giggling on the floor.

This was definitely a moment to remember for all four of them.

After Andy claimed a housecoat from the editor's closet, Miranda led the younger woman to the shower and showed her where the towels were and showed her the mechanics of the shower knobs. Miranda then left the bathroom and went to her bedroom to gather clean clothes for herself.

As she walked back by the door, she could hear Andrea singing in the shower over the rush of the water. Her heart raced and she felt slightly weak in the knees. She opened the door a jar and leaned in to hear more clearly.

But what she didn't expect was to see Andy's reflection in the mirror positioned across from the shower doors.

Her mouth dropped open at the beautiful body mysteriously covered in steam, teasingly dancing in front of her eyes.

Tingling sensations crept over her body and certain muscles clenched.

Miranda quickly pulled out of the doorway and shut the door. She took a deep breath and exhaled it with force. She felt guilty for taking a peek at Andy, but she couldn't deny the woman was gorgeous.

Later, when they both were down for dinner, Miranda couldn't look at Andy. She only stared down at her plate as she rearranged her vegetables multiple times. The younger woman watched with concern and confronted the editor after dinner.

"Miranda, what's wrong? You haven't been your normal self."

"There's no such thing as 'normal' anymore…" Miranda trails off while lightly shaking her head.

"What do you mean by that?" Andy's brow furrowed and she leaned in closer to the editor.

Straying away from that line of though, she said "Andrea, I could never lie to you and you know I would never disturb your privacy on purpose…" Miranda turned to face the younger woman and lowered her head a bit to look deep into those brown eyes.

"Miranda, seriously, what's wrong?" Miranda was right: there certainly is no 'normal' anymore, but this is just too weird.

"I accidentally saw you naked in the shower earlier." Miranda said in a meek voice, turning her head away and lightly scraped her nails on the back of her neck.

"Oh?" Andy's eyebrow twitched upwards. "That's it? I-I mean, it's not that big of a deal, Miranda. It was an accident after all." The younger woman attempted to play off the incident and make the editor feel more at ease.

"Yes, but, I somehow feel guilty for it." Miranda shifted her weight to the other foot and tightly crossed her arms.

Andy let a small grin escape before it turned into a larger one. "How 'bout this, Miranda - you and I take the twins to the park tomorrow?"

Miranda was taken aback by the random suggestion, but didn't turn it down. "A-alright. What time?"

"Hmm…tomorrow afternoon around 2. It'll be a leisurely Sunday and is supposed to be beautiful."

"Sounds lovely." They both start walking up the stairs side by side. "You know, I've never had a food fight before." Miranda chuckled.

"I haven't had one since I was a child. It's so much fun. I'm glad you joined in, too, Miranda." Andy placed a hand on the older woman's shoulder and through the fabric she could feel the heat of the editor's skin. This made her shiver and she instantly took her hand away.

They reached the top of the stairs and stood facing each other in the hallway between their separate bedrooms.

"Andrea, thank you for staying, though I don't know why you do. I know while you were my assistant I made your life a living hell and the rest of our meetings I've been a nuisance. I guess being rude is my own self-defense mechanism…" Miranda started to ramble, but stopped herself. "After all I've put you through, why do you stay?" She looked deeply into Andy's warm brown eyes.

"Miranda, you're not a nuisance and yes, while I was your assistant it was a bit tough, but I survived." Andy smiles at the woman in front of her. "But not once did I compare my life to being in hell. I can't explain exactly why I stay. All I know is that when I hear your name, when I hear your voice or when I see your face, overwhelming feelings rush through my body and I can't explain them except that I…I care deeply for you, Miranda. That may be hard to believe seeing as I made a couple mistakes in the past, but I do hope you believe me." Andy was resistant to use the 'L' word just yet. Miranda may become distant if things moved too fast.

"You care for me…deeply?" Miranda wasn't all that shocked at this knowledge, though hearing it took her breath away.

"Well, yea. I thought you might have caught a hint of that when I bought you the bracelet." Andy shyly smirked.

"Oh, I caught it." The older woman chuckled and gave a sensitive smile. "And your caring for me isn't all that hard to believe, really." Miranda drops her head, then slightly lifts her eyes to meet the younger woman's. "Andrea, have you ever lost something very important and all you could think about was getting it back?" Miranda fully faced the younger woman and received a slightly confused look in return. "Ever since Paris, all I could think about is you. I've missed you terribly. I-um-I care deeply for you, too, Andrea. Very deeply. One might say that I…I love you." Miranda took in a large breath, seemingly bracing herself for whatever reaction Andy was going to give.

Knowing that Miranda had the same feelings as her, her heart raced. Realizing that for the editor to admit this without persuasion was no small feat on her part, she lunged herself at the older woman and took her into the tightest embrace she has ever given anyone; even Nate.

Andy regained her composure and took a step back. "Sorry, that was probably a bit much…" Andy whispered.

Miranda merely looked back at the young woman with an endearing look, gave a smile and opened up her arms. "It's alright. I've been waiting much too long for an embrace like that from you." They stared at each other once more, before Andy fell into the arms of the editor again.

At the release of their embrace, their eyes meet and fire ignited in them once again. Miranda stepped in closer, breath quickening.

Andy looked from the blazing blue eyes to ruby red lips to a blushing neck and back to full, parting lips.

The older woman closed the gap between them and gently placed her lips atop Andy's. Instinctively, the younger woman's arms wrapped around the body next to hers, bringing it closer.

Andy's hands went to the editor's magnificent hips and caressed upwards to her waist.

As the kiss deepened, steam floated off their bodies. Miranda grabbed the hem of Andy's shirt and started pulling it up.

Andy gasped and realized just where this was going. "Miranda, I-I-I-… I don't think…Are you…I-I mean…." Andy lets out a frustrated sigh because her brain was still in a tizzy and her words wouldn't come out right. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Miranda gently took Andy's face in her hands and placed a loving, convincing kiss on the lips.

"Alright then. Your room or mine?" Andy asks in a husky tone and bit her lower lip.

"Mine." Miranda grabbed the younger woman's wrist and pulled her to the room where their deepest desires would come to fruition.

Once they both were safely inside, their bodies magnetically clung to one another.

Roaming hands explore new territory while subtle kisses turn from passionate to urgent.

Miranda walks backwards toward the bed, she crawls onto it as Andy seductively follows and holds herself over the older woman.

Before she makes another move, Andy asks "Are you sure you're ready for this? I-I mean if you're not, w-…"

Miranda rose up to quiet the younger woman with a kiss. Then pulls back to lay her head on the pillow and look into brown eyes. "Yes, I am. Have I ever told you, you talk too much?" The editor glares her eyes, but smiles and wraps her arms around Andy's neck to pull her down for another kiss.

Miranda grabs the hem of Andy's blouse and swiftly lifts it over her head. Then Andy unbuttons the older woman's shirt and slips it off her shoulders. Then she unhooks Miranda's bra, tosses it, and leans down to suck on pert nipples. Miranda's eyes went slightly crossed before they rolled upwards and a shaky sigh escaped her lips.

Andy caresses the older woman's hips and waist. "You're gorgeous…" Andy purrs into Miranda's ear and captures the editor's lips once more; tasting the coffee flavor that is surprisingly sweet and instantly she becomes addicted.

The young woman's lips travel down to gently touch Miranda's jaw line and tantalizingly caress her neck. All the while the older woman breathes out lustful moans.

Andy sits up on her heels and unzips Miranda's skirt, slips it over her quivering thighs and tosses it to the floor. Miranda then bends her legs, places them on either side of Andy, and the younger woman captures her moist center.

Shivers flow through Miranda's body and her back arches as the young fingers travel deeper inside of her.

The editor reaches down and gently places her hand around Andy's wrist and slightly tickles the warm skin, tracing an invisible line from her forearm to her palm, then seamlessly transfers her fingers to her own body, exciting her senses.

Andy leans down to kiss the peak of Miranda's sex and excitedly licks it. This ignites the fire inside Miranda and she lets out a deep moan, setting Andy's own inner fire ablaze.

The younger woman pulled her fingers out and teasingly sucked both of them clean. Miranda bit her bottom lip and her nostrils flared with heavy breaths.

The editor grabbed the younger woman by the shoulders, pulled her down to the bed and straddled her. Her hands were shaking so bad it was hard to undo the buttons on Andy's jeans. Finally she managed to undo them and while Andy pushed them down her legs, Miranda pulled them off at her feet.

Miranda leaned back down to the young woman's lips. She traces the bottom lip with her tongue and slightly bites it before plunging into a passionate kiss. She then licks her way down to Andy's swollen center and continues to lick and nip at the younger woman's sex. This makes Andy gasp in delight and her hips lunge forward.

Miranda picks up on the subtle signs the younger woman's body is giving her and places her leg between Andy's and gently rubs her lower thigh on the wetness that has been created.

Andy follows suit and raises her leg between Miranda's. At the touch of one another, pulses race and they begin to slowly grind on each other's leg.

Something switched on in Miranda's body and she started to grind harder and faster, her eyes locked with deep brown ones. Quick gasps echo off the walls.

Andy raises her hands to cup Miranda's shaking breasts and squeezes them, making light nail marks.

Miranda fell against Andy as the powers of pleasure surged through her body and made her weak. Andy's hot breaths warmed the older woman's neck. She moaned and whimpered into the young woman's ear as she was climaxing, as did the woman beneath her.

Miranda bit the pillow beneath Andy's head and the younger woman gripped the sheets and pulled at them, her face buried in the editor's neck trying hard not to bite it.

With a final jerk of hips, both bodies went limp at their release. Miranda slumped over onto the bed beside her new lover.

Still breathing heavily, Miranda lays a hand on her stomach then lets out a long sigh. "You know I'm not all that great at 'after-glow'." She admitted, smirking.

"That's ok. Seeing you glow is enough for me." Andy turned onto her side and looked into the older woman's eyes that were, in fact, shimmering.

The editor smiled, genuinely smiled. Then nuzzled into Andy's chest and let out a contented sigh.

The young woman lightly ran her fingers through the platinum locks, taking in their wonderful aroma.

"I love you, too, Miranda." Andy whispered and kissed the top of Miranda's head.

_How could this one young brunette be strong enough to surpass everything and open Miranda's long abandoned window to love? 'How' is a question Miranda doesn't care what is the answer. Other questions, more intense ones, were making their presence known. The answers to those questions were ones Miranda both anticipated and dreaded._

The next day at the park, all four women were enjoying the beautiful weather. The twins ran ahead and started playing on the playground set, Miranda and Andy were walking towards a park bench when the younger woman stops and looks closely at a large bush near them.

"What is it, Andrea?" Miranda questions, following the woman's stare to the bush.

"I thought I saw it move. Probably just a stray animal, though." The two brush off the moment and sit close on the bench, watching the twins play hide and seek.

Twenty feet away, in that same bush, a hooded stranger is hiding. The stranger reaches into a bag, pulls out a large camera and zooms in to capture a picture of the women on the bench. After acquiring a respectable shot of the target, the stranger stuffs the camera back into the bag and sneaks away.

A few hours later, the stranger walks up to a car and taps on the glass. The window rolls down to reveal another figure.

"Did you get the shot?" The figure in the car asks.

"Yes." The stranger replies.

"Good. Hand it over." The figure holds up a hand anticipating a photograph.

"Payment first." The stranger firmly states.

"Me letting you live should be payment enough." The figure growls their retort.

The hooded stranger reaches out a glove-clad hand holding a photo and the figure takes it with a snap.

"Good. This should do perfectly." The figure in the car chuckles and rolls the window up.


	6. Wicked Windows

Wicked Windows

Miranda awoke on this glorious Saturday morning, looked to her side, and there she found the gorgeous brunette, fast asleep in her bed. It had been a week since officially being together, and they were still immensely smitten with each other.

Soon, Andy awoke to find a pair of shimmering blue eyes focused upon her. She smiled and reached out a hand to brush away stray locks of platinum hair, then leaned in to place a loving kiss on amazingly soft lips. "Good morning, my love."

She pulled back and lets out a small sigh of contentment before taking a long look into blue eyes.

"What?" Miranda asked.

"Nothing. I still can't believe I'm actually here with you." Andy smiled and placed a soft kiss on Miranda's forehead.

"Well you better get used to it because as far as I'm concerned, you're not going anywhere." The older woman raised her eyebrows and smirked.

Andy snuggled up to Miranda and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Sounds good to me."

Just then, the young woman glanced over to the digital clock sitting on the side table. "Oh my god! I'm going to be late for work! And so are you for that matter!" She jumped out of the bed and gathered an outfit of hers from Miranda's closet. While attempting to literally hop into her jeans and hopping towards her shoes, she fell over and hit the ground with a loud "Oomph!"

Miranda still lay in the bed, propping up her head with her arm. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head at the frantic woman. "Take your time, Andrea. We don't have it in the schedule to take you to the hospital due to clothing related injuries."

"Oh, ha ha." Andy half-heartedly called out from the floor.

Miranda chuckled and gracefully slid off the bed to get ready herself.

* * *

Surprisingly, when Andy arrived at work, she found that there wasn't much work to be done to her articles. She finished them relatively quickly and then sat at her desk twiddling her thumbs. She got a wild idea to ask Miranda to lunch. Even if Miranda wasn't able to go, she could still go alone, right? Andy meekly entered Greg's office to request the rest of the day off. She informed him that all of her articles were finished ahead of schedule and it was a slow news day, so he relented and let her leave.

She exited the Mirror and started walking towards Elias-Clarke. Having this odd feeling that someone was watching her, she slowed her steps until she stood in place and looked around her. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she continued walking.

Andy took out her phone and dialed Miranda's. "Hey, you –uh– free for lunch today?"

The editor, sensing the tension in Andy's voice, spoke up. "Are you alright, Andrea?"

"Yea, I'm fine. I just thought – I felt like there was someone following me earlier, but it was nothing. So are you free?" Andy asked once again, more hopeful this time. She needed Miranda's presence with her right now. There was something in the air that made her really uncomfortable.

"Yes, I am. It's surprisingly smooth around here. I'm sure Nigel will be able to take care of anything that comes up. While I'm at it, might as well keep my bag at the office. I've got a meeting with Irv for a few minutes, though." Miranda let out a small sigh of disgust which made Andy chuckle.

"Oh, so you expect _me_ to pay for lunch?" Andy giggled.

"You're the one that asked me, remember?" Miranda smirked through the phone.

"Alright, you got me there." She giggled once more. "I'll see you in a few." She closed her phone and placed it back in her purse.

At the end of the conversation, a hooded figure made a sneaky entrance into an alley Andy had just passed and said in a low whisper, "This is my chance…" The figure took out a cell and called a number.

It rang for a moment before a deep voice answered. "Yes?"

"Be prepared at the designated spot. You shall _not_ disappoint me." The figure in the alley responded with a command and threat, and then shut their phone with a snap.

* * *

Andy sauntered into the Runway offices and up to Emily's desk.

"Heeeey…Em?" The brunette stopped her leisurely walk at the sight of an obviously stressed Emily.

"Andy! What are you doing here? Miranda just canceled everything for today…oh my _god,_ it's going to take for_ever _to rearrange her schedule…" The redhead was stressing herself more than necessary as usual and it took all Andy had not to laugh out loud. Instead, she shook her head and walked behind Emily's desk and pulled her away from the computer; quite literally. She rolled the computer chair away from the desktop along with its occupant.

Andy hunched over and started typing away at the keys, moving the mouse here and there. Before ten minutes passed, she straightened back up and pushed the stunned redhead back into her spot.

"It's taken care of." Andy said with smug satisfaction.

"Uh...um...Thank you?" Emily was still a bit shocked at how fast and calmly Andy had finished the task. She wasn't used to such calm organization.

"You're welcome, Em. I thought that since I'm the one that's got Miranda changing her entire schedule I should be the one to fix it." She grinned and winked towards the even more stunned Emily, then continued her trip to Miranda's office.

Andy leant into the doorway of the editor's office.

"You ready?" The young woman tilted her head to the side and bit her lip. She knew how much this affected Miranda and she lavished in it.

Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. "Yes, in fact, I've been waiting for you…" She walked over to Andy and cupped her cheek, placing a quick peck on red lips. "…it's about time you got here." Then replaced her lips upon the younger woman's, molding their mouths together.

Andy took their need for breath as an opportunity to speak. "We're going to be late if we keep this up."

"That's fine by me." She captured young lips once more.

"Miranda, seriously now." Andy tried her hand at being firm, but as soon as she looked into those blue eyes she melted into a puddle of goo.

With a slight sigh, Miranda relented. "You know, if you were anyone else, I wouldn't let you boss me around like this." The editor pursed her lips despite the smile attempting to form and arched an eyebrow.

"Ooh, I like the sounds of that…" Andy growled and bit the air towards the older woman, then laughed heartedly at how quick Miranda's face went from jovial to horny. She really shouldn't tease her like that before they went out into public.

* * *

Miranda and Andy exit Elias-Clark a few minutes later.

They were close to the car when Andy leaned forward in front of Miranda to open the door for her.

A silent shot is fired and Miranda jumped as Andy screamed, falling to the ground. Miranda yelled out for the younger woman and collapsed to her knees beside her.

Suddenly, everything goes into slow motion for Miranda. Another shot is fired, but misses the women and hits the sidewalk between them.

Roy grabbed the editor around the waist and hauled her back inside the building as the security guard ran to them, pulled Andy up into his arms and took her inside.

Things speed back up to real time when Emily and Nigel rush into the lobby in a panic.

"Miranda, are you alright?" Emily asked in a shrill tone.

"We saw Andy collapse from the window and instantly came down." Nigel informed the editor.

Miranda started to shake vigorously and attempted to ward off an anxiety attack. Roy offers to take Andy to the emergency room, for it will take too long for the ambulance to arrive. Miranda agrees on the condition she rides with them.

Roy, Nigel and Emily all disagree with her. "What if they were after you instead of Andy? We can't have both of you in the hospital. Or worse." Nigel stated worriedly.

"Fine." Very hesitantly, Miranda relinquishes her demands.

Miranda kisses Andy once more before she dismissed Roy and the guard to take her love to the hospital. "Drive carefully. Get there as soon as possible, mind you, but be careful."

Nigel and Emily sat in chairs in the lobby of Elias-Clark while Miranda paced a trench in the floor.

Nigel pipes up, "Miranda, there's really not much we can do at this point."

Miranda turned on her heel and pounced right in front of Nigel's face. "Maybe there's nothing _you_ can do, but there is something _I_ can do." She ran as quickly as she could in her Prada heels to the elevators and pushed the button for the floor of the Runway offices.

* * *

Miranda reaches her office, quickly steps behind her desk and picks up the phone intending to call the police.

"I'd put that phone down if I were you." Said a mysterious voice, coming from the dim light.

Miranda jumped and dropped the phone onto her desk.

"Who are you?" The editor intended to be intimidating, but wound up sounding timid.

"Oh, I'm nobody really. Unless you count that your most recent ex-husband is my fiancée." The stranger walked out into a brighter light and Miranda noticed she was carrying a knife.

"You…" Miranda growled involuntarily. She didn't really know why she was so defensive of Adrian, but perhaps it was just the fact she had something taken from her by another woman.

"Yes, me." The woman smiles. "After all you've put my poor baby through, you deserve to be put through just as much. If not more. There are other people we have to count in, too, right? All your assistants; the people you've cut and watch bleed on your way to the top. Well now it's going to be your turn to bleed." The woman took steps closer to Miranda, rotating her wrist, making the light glimmer off the knife.

"How did you get in here, anyway?" Miranda was quite interested at how a complete stranger had snuck into her office.

"Through the door, obviously." The woman cackled at the glare she received for her sarcastic comment. "It was quite easy, though. You see, I've been watching you for a while. I chose the time when you had a meeting with Irv and when that incompetent assistant went to lunch. The one that stayed was easy to bypass. Second assistants are always so gullible. I just called the office and acted like someone from the Art Department and told the idiot you needed her to pick up some _stuff_." She grinned smugly as she heard Miranda hiss at the word 'stuff'. She knew it irked Miranda to no end.

"You wouldn't _dare_ cut me. I've been through more than your wildest nightmares could dream up." Miranda whispered in a dangerously low voice.

"Oh, yes. I'm sure it's horrid living in such a terrible townhouse and being the most influential person in New York. I would just _hate_ to be you." The woman laughed and then tilted her head to the side.

Miranda gives the coldest glare she has ever given.

"That doesn't work on me anymore…" The woman chuckled and then a serious look crept on her face. "…still the same bitch, I see."

The woman ran with the knife in stabbing position towards Miranda. The editor cowers a little and tries to steel herself. Not like there's really anything that she could do. That was a big knife, she realized…it would go through anything.

Once again, everything slows down for Miranda. Her life flashed before her eyes. The twins' smiling faces came into view and dear sweet Andrea's lips were kissing her.

The woman was so close to Miranda, she could clearly see the crazed look on her face and had a moment of revelation: this was the assistant right after Andrea…

There's a gunshot…

The woman fell on the ground, knife still clenched in her hand, though she had a fatal gunshot wound.

Three police officers and a paramedic rushed into the room, kicked the knife away from the woman's hand, and checked her pulse. Nothing.

The paramedic and a police officer walked over to check Miranda. She's still in shock. Everything is hazy and the officer's words were mumbled. "Ma'am, are you alright? We were on the line and heard everything."

"My ex-husband's mistress was my former assistant…" Miranda gazed into the distance while whispering her words. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes glossy.

"I'm sorry?" The officer gave Miranda a confused look.

"The woman that tried to kill me was my ex-husband's mistress and my former assistant." Miranda said louder in disbelief.

"Who was your ex-husband, ma'am?" The officer pulled out a small notepad to write down this information.

"Adrian Lee Smithson." The editor spat the man's name out like cold coffee. "I'm sure if you look in your records, he'll become a prime suspect in this little incident."

* * *

Once they got the affirmation from the officers in the lobby, Nigel and Emily hastily went upstairs to be with Miranda.

"Miranda!" Nigel exclaimed when he saw the body bag, the pool of blood, and a shaking editor being checked out by a paramedic.

"I-I'm fine Nigel. And you were right." Miranda slowly shook her head and stared at the stain on the carpet.

"Right about what?" Nigel moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She was after me." Miranda looked up into Nigel's eyes then looked back down to the floor.

"'She' who?" Emily questioned.

"Not now, Emily. I just want to get out of here so I can be with Andrea."

"Alright ma'am. You're clear." The paramedic spoke up and affirmed Miranda's health.

"Thank you." Miranda offered to the man. She quickly stood out of her chair and walked over to Nigel and Emily. She gave them each a polite kiss on the cheek and placed a hand on the corresponding cheek. "Thank you both for being so loyal to me."

The two were stunned and looked like twins with their mirrored expressions of confusion.

"Would you two like to come with me to see Andrea?" Miranda placed her hands back down by her side and marched over to her desk to pick up her purse.

Still shocked, they nodded their head in affirmation.

"Good. Nigel, can you drive us there?" Miranda said with a smirk.

He nodded his head again and Miranda walked between them towards the elevators, the two in tow.

The trio reaches the hospital, but Nigel and Emily allow Miranda to go in to see Andy alone. The two women would need a few moments together.

Miranda solemnly steps through the entrance to the younger woman's room and the air in her lungs escapes with force.

Andrea, _her_ Andrea, was lying in that hospital bed. Pale and weak from loss of blood, her right shoulder in a sling.

Slowly Andy opens her eyes and finds an emotional editor standing in her room. Her heart yearns for Miranda and she reaches out her left arm in an effort to beckon the older woman to her.

Miranda moves from the spot she's been standing in and steps to the left side of the bed, clasping the young hand in her own, bringing it to her lips.

"You know you should be asleep." Miranda calmly stated. "You need your rest."

"I know, but it didn't feel right without you here." Andy playfully smirked. Miranda simply closed her eyes and smiled at the corny comment. She couldn't deny that it was sweet, though.

The older woman placed a shaking hand on Andy's cheek and felt that she was cold.

"Do you need another blanket, Andrea?" Miranda asked protectively.

"No." The young woman said with a slight shiver.

Blue eyes shone with an idea. She let go of Andy's hand, to the young woman's protest, pulled back the covers and slipped into the bed with the brunette.

"Better?" The editor smiled once more and her eyes surveyed the face in front of hers. Even pale and exhaust stricken, it was the most beautiful sight she's ever seen.

"Much. I love you, y'know." Andy said weakly, her eyelids slowly making their way closed.

"Yes, I do know." Miranda gently placed a kiss upon the younger woman's forehead. "I love you, too." She said, her lips caressing porcelain skin with each word.

"And I still…owe you lunch." Andy whispered before falling asleep in the editor's arms.

Miranda closed her eyes as a stray tear rolled down her cheek.

* * *

It's almost, a month later.

Miranda put new carpet in her office, and Andy's shoulder has finally healed, though not completely. There are times where it will pop and lock up, but it never lasts long. She's even turned it into a game to see how long it'll stay locked up, how many times it'll pop, or even how loud the pops were. Miranda never really got into those games. She'd cringe to the point of almost contorting her body.

Miranda had made plans with Andy and the girls to go to the park today. Upon hearing from the police department that they had caught Adrian and tied him in with his now deceased fiancée, Miranda felt more at ease about going out in public.

All four women made it to the park. The twins pulled Andy into a game of tag while Miranda sat on the bench and watched them play. She placed her elbow on the armrest and propped a loose fist under her chin. As she was watching Andrea play with the girls, she noticed it seemed so natural for the young woman. They loved her just as much as she loved them, it was obvious to see.

Miranda knew she loved Andy, and she also knew Andy loved her back; everyone could see that. Well, 'everyone' being the Runway exclusive, Doug and Lily. But that wasn't enough for Miranda. She wanted to let the whole world know. And as we all know, Miranda always gets what she wants.


End file.
